Pier Rat Porter | Pizza Port Solana Beach

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More User Reviews:

Brown body, a little thin head. Aroma was nice and roasty, all the hallmarks of a porter, coffee, toffee, chocolate, burnt malt.

Smooth flavor, decent hopping, but not over the top for the sake of making everything hoppy. Had this at the SDIBF. Definitely more smooth than bitter. Thick, chewy, but not heavy. Coffee is in the background. Probably smoothed out by oatmeal or caramel.

Would recommend, definitely something different from these guys (i.e. not deliciously hoppy).

S: Starts off with a solid roasted character on the nose with plenty of chocolate (though more of a cocoa powder thing going on). A mild coffee aroma and a nice earthy hoppiness.

T: The flavor is similarly pleasing with lots of roasted malts and dark chocolate, both of which provide some bitterness to the beer. The coffee is minimal and there's a bit of a sweet caramel or toffee thing.

M: Medium in body with a moderate level of carbonation to go with it.

D: I liked this beer quite a lot. A lot easier to drink than InFamous (not surprising), but still a lot of flavor.

T: Begins nearly-dry, with strong roasted malt accented by used coffee grounds--complete with acidity and astringency of similar qualities. Flavors grow less intense in the middle, where some assertive herbaceous and charcoal qualities emerge. The finish is dry and vanishing, with lingering charcoal, cocoa powder, and herbaceous notes. Bitterness peaks fairly late, but does not exceed a moderate level.

D: On approach this porter sends mixed signals, appearing well enough but with a smell that is more repellent than appealing. The flavors assist in continued consumption, but don't leave too much of an impression. It does come across as more herbaceous than most porters; bitter green plant stems are not a typical flavor for the style.

A trip to the San Clemente Pizza Port last Sunday for the purposes of swapping some beer with my good friend xlperro (aka Richard the Lionheart) resulted in the fine opportunity of trying some beers here.

After a couple of beers with BigDog; ATLagerHeads immediately appeared from a large puff of blinding white smoke, and joined us. A welcome addition. So I headed to the bar, aided by BigDog, and promptly arranged a round of three Pints of the excellent Pier Rat Porter for the liquid refreshment of all three of us.

This was the only tap on the row of taps located on the stainless dispensary behind the bar to have a long black plastic extension. Usually a dead giveaway that this was Nitro-dispense, which in of itself is not a bad thing.

Huge thick but well behaved brown head, smooth looking atop a very dark impermeable brown body. Lots of roasted malts in the nose. Dark chocolate entrance, roast malts in the middle with a crisp toasty feel at times, light cocoa butter smoothness in the middle of the mouthfeel which is solid and dependable  a meal this one. Finishes with a bitter-sweet Porter-esque ending. Feels complex, but it isnt, which lends a very distinct quaffability factor, which is also aided by the smoothness of the Nitro-dispense method which is not abused but properly used to its strengths (hence it is only on the Porter Tap).

A great finish to the all-too short visit to the Sam Clemente Pizza Port (SC PP) : it went down well with myself, xlperro and ATLagerHeads, and adequately washed away the biting mouth of the spicy Jalapeno Pepper covered Pizza that I just had devoured earlier.

I had this beer at Pizza Port in San Clemente on 10/2/04. It presented itself beautifully with a tan and creamy head that retained very well. The color of the beer was a thick dark brownish black. The aroma is of dark roasted coffee all the way.

The flavor is nicely layered with coffee, dark chocolate, brown sugar, cherry, toast, and even a slight bit of minty spice. The flavors blend very well without any single flavor getting out of hand. This beer is creamy creamy creamy in the mouth. Simply put, I could drink this beer all damn day. Excellent.

A very good looking glass of porter for which I owe TheLongBeachBum. Meeting up at the San Clemente Port location I joined he and xlperro as they were already up a couple on me and ready for some coffee to finish the afternoon's sojourn. This glass provided that nice coffee finish.

Coming with a very dark body and a solid tan to beige head, it reeked (in a good way) of roasted goodness and hints of chocolate and cocoa. The taste was simply scrumptious, and I'll admit to having to restrain myself from sucking this down too quickly as the flavor was very good and the mouthfeel quite nice and striking a good balance between fullness and easy drinkability. Getting to enjoy the story of LBB advising and attempting to teach the publican a proper pour simply enhanced the drink and the experience. Solid drink with sold BAs.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Foamy streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and slight coffee aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa and char flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with some solid aromas and flavors.

Recently stayed at Capistrano Beach, about 4 miles up the road from the Port. Was thrilled to be able to visit a Port finally!

Beer poured dark brown with an amazing long lasting tan head. Nose was light with a hint of malt. Taste was of chocolate malts, with bittering hops midway, finishes smooth and slightly hoppy. Mouthfeel was light bodied with a creamy smooth texture benefitting from the nitro tap. Drinkability was good. This was a decent porter that was very smooth and pretty drinkable. I am happy to have had the opportunity to try!

Nitro Draught @ San Clemente Location: This one is a VERY dark brown. There was a thin, tan head. Decent aroma, mainly consisting of chocolate. Taste is more complex, consisting of chocolate, roastiness and coffee. As a result of the nirto pour, it is very creamy.

Served on tap at Pizza Port San Clemente. The beer's appearance was really good, black color with a thick white foam. The head retained forever. The flavor was mostly kind of a burnt malt which I dind't care for too much. But the mouthfeel was good, creamy and smooth.

I'm probably not a good judge of porters, I just don't drink them too often. But I consider this one drinkable, just not my flavor.

Pitch black body until held against the setting sun, revealing a trace of ruby red along the edges of the Libby straight-side pint glass. The foam cap is a full finger of nitro-induced creaminess.

The nose is dominated by roasted malt with hints of toffee and coffee beans. The taste is nitro flat on entry with a burst of smoky, roasty nitro-porter goodness with a finish that leaves a roasted sweetness on the lips.

A highly quaffable companion when paired with a San Clemente sunset on the top deck overlooking the Pacific.